Ohio State Buckeyes: End of recruiting dead period expected to lead to busy June

Pantoni told reporters the school has already scheduled more than 51 official visits this summer and could have 150 or even 200 unofficial visits.

It figures to be crazy, but that’s better than the alternative.

“I think it’s a great problem to have,” Pantoni said. “It’s been almost two years since anyone’s been able to visit, so the kids are excited.”

He is looking forward to getting to know players beyond video conferencing. While the players were allowed to visit campus on their own, they could not have contact with coaches while there during the dead period.

“It’s just my job and Erin’s job just to be as organized as possible for when they get on campus with so many kids that we have a great plan and envision anything that could possibly go wrong,” Pantoni said.

Here is a look at the state of recruiting for the Buckeyes and some other teams of interest:

1. Ohio State has been doing pretty well anyway.

Only Georgia has a higher-rated class in 247Sports Composite rankings heading into June.

So far, Ohio State’s 11-man class contains four five-star recruits and four Ohioans.

C.J. Hicks, a two-way standout for Alter, is part of both groups. He is rated the No. 2 outside linebacker prospect in the country and the best player in Ohio entering the summer.

Quinn Ewers, a quarterback from Southlake (Texas) Carroll, is the No. 1-ranked recruit not only in the class but the entire country, and those two are expected to take a lead role in rounding up more talent for the class.

Lakota West teammates Jyaire Brown and Tegra Tshabola are both part of the OSU class as well. Brown is a four-star cornerback ranked No. 13 in the nation at his position while Tshabola is a four-star offensive lineman ranked the No. 20 tackle.

2. The rest of the top 10 is most of the usual suspects — LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas A&M, Texas and Florida State — but there is an outlier.

Rutgers, in year two of tenure two of head coach Greg Schiano, is off to a hot start. The Scarlet Knights have 12 commits, including five four-stars, and rank No. 7 nationally and third in the Big Ten, just behind Penn State.

Michigan (20th) and Maryland (22nd) give the Big Ten five teams in the top 25.

Illinois, under new head coach Bret Bielema, is 28th.

Meanwhile, Alabama entered June with the No. 16 class in the country. The reigning national champions have just six commits so far, including Wayne tight end Elijah Brown. He is a four-star prospect ranked the No. 12 player in the country at his position.

3. Notre Dame’s class is ranked fourth.

The Fighting Irish have recruited well under head coach Brian Kelly — but not quite well enough to capture the school’s first national championship since 1988.

Notre Dame’s performance in the College Football Playoff and other major bowls in recent years — including a shellacking from Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 — leave no doubt about that.

Among those charged with helping take the Fighting Irish to the top now is Wayne High School grad Marcus Freeman.

The former Ohio State linebacker has been considered a rising star in the coaching business for several years, receiving praise for his work coordinating the defense at Cincinnati as well as for his recruiting prowess.

Now he has a new stage to showcase his talents, and Notre Dame’s recruiting efforts are off to a strong start for 2022.

The 13-man class contains 10 four-star recruits so far. Eleven different states are represented, but Ohio is not one of them.

Freeman is in on the recruiting for one of the top players in the area, Wayne offensive tackle Aamil Wagner.

Also on staff is former Wayne standout Mike Mickens. He played at UC when Kelly was the coach of the Bearcats and joined the Fighting Irish staff last year as cornerbacks coach.

4. Cincinnati is 19th as Luke Fickell’s class has 11 commits so far.

The top-rated member is Derrick Shepard Jr., a two-way lineman for Alter.

He is a four-star defensive tackle prospect per 247 and the No. 12 player in Ohio.

According to 247Sports, the Bearcats have sent out seven offers to players from the Dayton/Springfield/Middletown/Hamilton area: Shepard, Hicks, Wagner, Delian Bradley of Springfield, Alex Afari of Lakota West, Kaleb Johnson of Hamilton and Tyron Darby of West Carrollton.

5. Ohio State also has a little business left with the class of 2021.

Pantoni can’t speak specifically about any players who are not signed, but he confirmed the Buckeyes could find a spot if any elite players from the graduating senior class who happened to want to join the Scarlet and Gray.

“If there’s one that will help the roster, we’ll definitely bring them in on visits,” Pantoni said Friday.

By many accounts, five-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau of Sammamish Eastside High School in Washington fits that bill.

The nation’s No. 1-rated player kept his recruitment open in anticipation of making official visits whenever that became possible, and he is set to start a whirlwind tour Friday with a trip to see the home-state Huskies. Next he’ll visit USC June 14-16 before heading to Ohio State from June 18-20. That will be followed by a visit to Oregon June 20-22 and then finally a trip to Alabama on June 25-27.

His final decision is expected late in the month or in early July according to 247Sports.